1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable device for preventing theft of motor vehicles of the type having a steering wheel with steering wheel spokes and hub mounted in front of a panel having a top edge in proximate relation to the top of the steering wheel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been invented in the past a variety of devices which attach to the steering wheel of a motor vehicle to deter thieves from stealing the vehicle. These anti-theft devices are unsatisfactory for various reasons. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,296,085; 1,170,987; 1,430,463 and 1,452,240 disclose non-portable anti-theft devices intended for original factory installation during manufacture and are not readily suitable for modern motor vehicles. They have been generally superceded by the current steering column conventional combined lock and ignition switch which when the key is removed breaks the ignition circuit and simultaneously prevents movement of the steering wheel.
However, as is well known, such steering column combined lock and ignition switch construction has not stopped the proliferation of motor vehicle theft. The cylinder of such steering column lock is vulnerable to even youthful amature thieves with the help of a commercially available tool originally designed for removal of dents in auto bodies and known as a "slapper". This tool has an 18 inch shaft with a tapered screw extending from one end and a 10 pound weight slidably mounted on the shaft. The thief screws the tapered screw tightly into the keyhole of the lock and then slaps the weight back sharply against a shoulder at the other end of the shaft. With three or four such sharp blows, the lock cylinder is torn out of the steering column lock which then is susceptible to a screwdriver being inserted to start the vehicle motor.
A quieter and less conspicuous procedure is customarily used by the thief to open a locked door of the vehicle. A thin, flat tool known as a "snake" is inserted between the top of the vehicle window and the rubber weatherstripping and then manipulated to unlock the door by lifting the latch button on the inside of the motor vehicle.
Because of the above described apparent ease with which a thief may enter and steal such vehicles, auxiliary anti-theft inventions have been devised. One such auxiliary anti-theft device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,348,391 which involves a relatively cumbersome, non-portable arrangement having a metal band fastened around the seat of the vehicle and to which is slidably and rotatively mounted a plate structure which locks onto the steering wheel when the vehicle is parked and occupies a part of the seat at other times.
Two portable auxiliary anti-theft devices are disclosed in British patents Nos. 1,039,980 and 1,007,711 as variations of an elongated structure carrying hook formations on respective ends thereof for hooking over a spoke of the steering wheel and a control pedal respectively in the vehicle. A problem with these later two devices is that the hook at the control pedal is susceptable to being kicked off of some control pedals. And while these later two devices have the attribute of being portable and less difficult to install than those previously mentioned, they lack the installation ease and structural simplicity needed to encourage use each time the vehicle is parked. A further undesirable feature of these later two devices is that they are not easily visible from outside the vehicle when installed and therefor lack visual deterrence for influencing a thief to forego breaking into the vehicle.
Visual deterrence may be understood when it is realized that the previously described theft procedures of opening a locked vehicle door and removing the steering post lock cylinder reportedly may be carried out in the amazingly brief period of two minutes. Such time period is very important to a thief because the risk of being noticed and caught in the stealing act increases rapidly with time. Thus the thief is greatly influenced by his appraisal of the time required to perform the necessary unlocking and vehicle starting procedures. It therefor becomes desirable to not only provide a structurally simple and inexpensive auxiliary anti-theft device that requires a minimum of effort to install and remove by the owner, but also one which is highly visible through the windows from the outside of the vehicle and readily recognizable as being a difficult and time consuming impediment to the thief.